New Ao Po Residential Project Poses Questions

Recent media activity, press releases and a visit to the Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha by the UAE based developers of a new 134 unit luxury residential project in Ao Po has been widely covered.
An investment of USD20 million has been mentioned by the joint venture Middle East team of Asset Allocation Advisors (AAA) and Tasweek Real Estate Development.
The project is located south of the Ao Po Pier and Tawan Views project, off a side ride along the cliff. Units will be comprised of one up to three bedroom suites and pool villas.
Looking at the press releases issued by the development team there is mention that AAA has an investment in Bali. Based on our market knowledge this project is the Outrigger Panorama project in Bukid which has yet to start construction and have been 'on hold' for a number of years.
According to Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website the location and plan for the Ao Po resort is shown –
<link>http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2645.php?id=28543*CLICK</link>
One point of confusion in the marketing releases is the reference to the luxury Jumeirah hotels group from Dubai and proximity to the resort. It's important to note that the Jumeriah group has no financial investment into the project and in fact the development has been stalled for over two years.
While the east coast area of Ao Po continues to be touted as an up and coming location, it was hit hard during the global financial crises. It's primary attraction has been to overseas buyers which remains a challenged market segment.
Though much to its credit in the area, the Thai based investors building the Ao Po Grand Marina have executed a key demand generator for the area.
We also understand that a longstanding legal dispute by parties involved in the Barama Bay (Jumeirah Private Island Project) are coming to some form of resolution; the market dynamics of new developments looking to fund projects through unit sales remains financially cloudy.
It's a positive to see overseas investors return to Phuket for large quality projects but also a reality check needs to be taken that adequate capital investment needs to be on hand versus the presale model which has resulted in heartbreak for countless developers and unit buyers here over the past five years.